'X-Men' James McAvoy: 'Professor X has ego'

James McAvoy has revealed that X-Men: First Class presents his character Professor Charles Xavier in a more gritty light than most comics fans might be used to.

The Scottish actor stressed that director Matthew Vaughn's film explores the darker side of the mutant's personality in order to paint a more accurate picture of the heroic Professor X.

"You give him an ego. You give him a sex drive. You make him a little more selfish. You give him a sense of humor," USA Today quotes him as saying. "You don't make him wise."

McAvoy also explained that joining X-Men: First Class proved to be the fulfilment of a childhood dream, adding that he has always been intrigued by the journey that leads Professor Xavier to become founder of the X-Men.

"I loved the cartoon when I was a kid - in the early '90s. My friend and I got really into it, actually. My favorite character wasn't Professor X. My favorite character was Gambit," he added.

"I met Matthew, the director, and he seemed quite cool and irreverent. I said, 'If we do this, can we take the character as far away as realized in the [previous three] movies?' There's no point in doing a movie if you're not going to show the transition."